The Cold
by Corran21
Summary: It's been a month now, that Ruby and her friends left to Haven, but it's a long way to go... both physically, and spiritually. Spoilers for the end of Vol 3! Comments/reviews are very welcome :)


The cold was almost unbearable.  
As gusts of icy wind blew past the silent mountains, hills, and swept over the frozen bodies of the trees that made the forest, a young warrior stood in the ankle-deep snow, gripping her weapon with shaking hands. She barely moved, but not because of the freezing temperature, or fear of the monsterous creature right in front of her: no, she was simply waiting for her turn.  
The black clad monster opened it's huge maw, and let out a bloodcurdling howl, spit and frozen air particles accompanied the call to it's pack.  
Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, a heavy cilinder of iron smashed into the beast's jaw, shattering it, and knocking the creature into the air. This was the sign the young warrior was waiting for: she began to run towards the huge body, jumped into the air, while pulling the trigger on the shaft of her weapon, propelling herself forward by shooting behind her back. This gave her the momentum she needed, and the monster landed on the ground in two pieces, covered in rose petals, as the schyteblade slashed it apart. The warrior stood up, looking back on her partner, who helped her land the killing blow.

"Thanks Nora!" she said, while tried to elevate the others spirit with a little smile.

The other girl did not reponded in words, only gave a little a nod, before she turned away, started to look for their other two companions. "I always forget that we do not really talk nowdays" thought Ruby Rose sadly, but she quickly chased away the feeling, knowing that she had to lead this team now. She wasn't the strongest fighter, but she needs to be the strongest in spirit.

She looked over the icy, silent battleground, where black hair cowered trampled patches of the snow, then saw Ren and Jaune, whose who also finished their fights, dispatching the grimm efficiently.

This had to be one of the quietest fights in Rubys life, she heard some shots being fired, and some slashes by a sword, but not a single word. It put her at ease, she was used to more communication, and not just in battle: it's been almost a month now since they left Patch, and embarked on this journey towards Haven, but they barely ever talked to each other. Every day passed quiet, and every night was the same in that regard.

Of course she understood it: the battle of Beacon took something precious from everyone she knew, including herself. She also felt the grief, but had a different time dealing with it. And she also felt that it must not hold her down, render her paralised. The fight only just begun, and she didn't wanted to end up like Yang, who was completly broken by everything that happened. So she carried on... but she sometimes felt like it would be better if she set out to Haven alone. Seeing her friends like this really took a toll on her, but she hoped that time will heal some of their wounds.

"Alright" she yelled, looking at the darkening sky. "This is it for today, lets set up camp in there!" she pointed to a steep rock wall, so that their back would be covered on at least one side. This was the best place they had in weeks, as far as camps go, and that was saying something about the environment.

As the others set up the camp, lighted a fire and rolled out the mattresses, she climbed onto a tree, that was only a few meteres away from the cliffiside. Everything was quiet for a change, and she was rather happy about it. If it stays that way, maybe they can finnaly have a good sleep. She jumped down, set the Cresent Rose to gun mode, and then sat down to her mattress. It was a silent agreement amongst them, that she is always the first to stand guard, so they no longer said anything about it.

She sat there for hours. The fire gave some defence from the freezing temperature, but the shadows created by it always moved like they had a mind of thier own, sometimes creating rather convincing illusions of grimm stading there, you out of the ring of light.

"It's my turn" said Jaune suddenly, but since Ruby heard him getting up, she did not became startled by his voice. "You can sleep now."

"Okay" she replied, and stood up, ready to seek out her place to rest, but then, she stoped. She remembered what she said to Jaune back in the day, about being a leader... It's not just about you anymore. As she looked at her friend, his loose posture, emotionless, blonde suble ridden face, she realised the new meanings to her own words. This cannot go like this forever.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, as she sat down next to Jaune.

"Yeah, of course" he replied in a grizzled tone, after a few second of silence. He didn't even really listened. After it, as a proof, he reluctantly showed a thumbs up to Ruby.

"Jaune..."

"Okay, I'm not fine" he confessed in an irritated tone. "But you probably guessed that already. Who would be, after all that?"

"I'm sorry" Ruby said, averting her gaze. "I wasn't fast enough. If only..."

"It wasn't your fault. After I heard what happened, I really wanted to blame you for it, that would've been harsh, and dishonest, after it, I blamed myself... but that didn't hold either. Pyrrha wanted to do this. We... I could not do anything to stop her. She was a true hero."

"I know. But I still can't forgive myself" Ruby replied.

"Well, I forgive you. I done way more bad on that day. I made a huge mistake, that kickstarted the whole thing."

"What happened?"

"Weird stuff. I was tasked with stanging guard. What Ozpin and Pyrrha did, most of it I still don't understand, but I see one thing clearly. I failed. I basicly let Cinder in... but I could not resist. I could not stay idle, while Pyrrha was screaming in pain, so I abandoned my post. Ironic, since now she's gone."

"I miss her..." admitted Ruby reluctantly. "Actually, I miss everything we lost. Friends, bonds... everything is gone."

"Not everything. We are here, right? We survived, and will find the ones responsible."

"We will try our damnedest" nodded Ruby, and lifted her head. It's not over yet, Jaune is right. They will not go down without a fight.

"I think, I loved her" said Jaune suddenly. "She liked me too. I just did not realised."

"What?" came the surprised answer. Everyone saw what Pyrrha was feeling, except for Jaune himself, so the information caught Ruby off guard.

"I was really dumb" he admitted. "All the schemes and talks about Weiss, and how I like her... it was all superficial, she was beautiful, so she caught my eye, and I did not really care for much else. Pyrrha was different... she was magnificent, and I was just happy that she was my friend. Never dared to think anything else."

"But how do you know, then?"

"I began to catch up after the dance. She told me, she likes me because I treat her like a normal human being, but before that, I did not, for the most part. I knew she was too good. I knew she was awesome, really. Never saw past that, before the dance. But, after it, I did" confessed Jaune. "I wanted the things to play out. Not to rush anything. I wanted to support her, be there, so eventually we grow togerher... I alwyas said to myself, that we have all the time we need. I thought for sure, we have time. But we did not."

Ruby remained silent, but lifter her right onto Jaunes shoulders. There was only the strength of a broken man in them. She wanted to let her friend say all that he had to, to properly let go of his loss, his grief. And Jaune, like he knew, what she wanted, continued with his thoughts.

"I was never able to tell her what I felt. I tried to, but she was going through something big... so I didn't wanted to bother her with my feelings for her. Not with all the thing that put weight on her. So I just offered her my shoulder... literally. But even then, I was too late. It wasn't much of a help."

"I don't believe that" said Ruby. "I think it meant a lot for her. She was like that."

"You're maybe right. Still, I'm horrible. She's gone, and I only think of my pain in that."

"It's how we deal with things like this. It doesn't make you a bad person."

"I just... I wonder if it would be better, if I actually could've said goodbye to her. You know... it was too quick. When she made me rocket away, I was too choked up with trying to stop her... no, not just that. I feared for her safety, but never thought that that was the last time I could see her. I did not thought that I should to say goodbye to her, so I never did."

"Maybe... you didn't needed to" - whispered Ruby, as she struggled to stay awake. She was very tired from the fighting, but this was more important to her, then resting. Now it's not every day that her friends open up to her in this way, she felt like she must provide some sort of comfort to them. Something she herself believes in.

"What do you mean?" asked Jaune, finally looking at her.

"When my mother disappeared, I was crushed for a long time. Then one day, Yang told me a story about people... how everyone has a star, that never falls off the sky. She said, those we love the most, never really die. They live on in us, in our memories. As long we think about them, we never lose them... they still have a star in the sky."

Jaune did not replied to that, but thought back the times he and Pyrrha trained, the night, when they danced happily. The night, that started out as one of the worst in Jaunes life, turned out to be the best he had. Then he remembered the Emerald Forest, and what Pyrrha said, when she unlocked his aura... It is through in passing we achive immortality...  
"Infinite in distance and unbound by death" he said finally, as a little smile slowly unfolded on his face. "Yeah Ruby. I think your right. Thank you."


End file.
